Phantom Scents?

I have been diagnosed with schizophrenia based on "olfactory hallucinations", even though the unpleasant smells I have smelled as coming from my own body have never lasted for more than a few seconds. As I understand it this rules out both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Also what I perceive to be my own stench (very rarely and only for a few seconds) is definitely being perceived by others too (not by all people though) as being real, meaning I do stink (sniffs, coughings and so on). Many TMAU sufferers are diagnosed as paranoids (schizophrenics of paranoid type). Do real schizophrenics/bipolar disorder sufferers ever sense those smells for just a few seconds and also do they ever have the impression that its their own stench and not the stench of surrounding people/objects? Interestingly the range of unpleasant smells seems to be the same for both TMAU and mental diseases: rotten things, chemicals and so on. Also there were periods of time when my stench seemed to have gone away, I even had a girlfriend who never complained about any unpleasant smell coming from me and this happened after I had got sick with TMAU which was wrongly diagnosed as schizophrenia. During those periods of times (which weren't short at all, some lasted more than 1 year) nobody seemed to have noticed any stench of mine. During the more-prolonged periods of time when I do stink, most of the surrounding people notice it (and react to it) but there are some people, notably my family and friends and also psychiatrists who have never been capable of doing that. TMAU is known to not be spotted by all people. As far as I was able to understand phantosmia is an olfactory hallucination that lasts for more than just a few seconds and is indeed related to schizophrenia, maybe even bipolar disorder. Short OH that last for just a few seconds seem to be related to epilepsy which I definitely don't sufferer from.
"We know that paranoid schizophrenics characteristically have a distorted sense of smell (as well as of taste and other senses) while also exuding a peculiar, unfamiliar odor themselves." [???]
Also phantosmia, the long-duration olfactive hallucinations seems to be connected to lack or having less than the normal quantity of dopamine in the blood but then again this is a "positive" symptome of schizophrenia (I mean hallucinations) and positive symptomes are connected with too much dopamine in the blood. The "negative" symptomes are connected with too little dopamine.
Also I found on the web that schizophrenics suffering from phantosmia can't describe the stench they are sensing accurately (what smell it is similar to) and that they say the smell has always been there even though I can certainly say that there were periods of time when mine had vanished, noone around me could sense it, I even had a girlfriend and all this happened after I had got sick with "schizophrenia" based on the sole sympton that I claimed I stank.

I have bipolar with psychotic features and I get olfactory hallucinations that last a few seconds at most. Boiled cabbage, smoke, garlic bread that kind of thing. I get hallucinations in all 5 senses albeit the most common is auditory.....

I'm unclear from your post if you've actually been diagnosed with TMAU or if you just suspect you have it? If it's the latter, I suggest talking to your Dr about it. If you actually have been diagnosed with this, seek a second psych opinion to see if you can lose the schizophrenia diagnosis. IMO, even if the smells you are experiencing WERE hallucinations, that would not be enough to fulfill the criteria for sz. Lots of people hallucinate voices etc and never receive a mental health diagnosis because it is not detrimental to their functioning.

Wrt the smells: maybe you are not hallucinating and just more sensitive to smells? For example, I am bothered by the smell of a particular type of tree pollen when it's in bloom, but no one else can detect it. However I know that I am not hallucinating the smell because that tree is ALWAYS nearby when I smell it, if I look to find it. My mother also cannot smell marijuana and I can, and so can my Dad.

Sometimes it is hard to tell whether I am hallucinating smells and taste or just detecting things others aren't able to. I try not to worry about it because it doesn't really matter either way. But those smells usually last a few minutes, rather than a few seconds. However the brain is designed to filter out old information - once you have smelled something, it is no longer novel, so it could be real smells that just get filtered out of conscious awareness. They are always unpleasant smells; rotten, marijuana, wet soil, gross food, burnt toast etc, but I've never experienced them as coming from myself. (I have a sz diagnosis FWIW.)

Also it is possible to hallucinate rotting smells, usually, and believe that they come from yourself. There's nihilistic delusions where people can believe that they, or a part of them, is rotting away, which are usually accompanied by depressive symptoms.

However, I think a second opinion from a psychiatrist is the way to go here, plus a geneticist or whoever could diagnose TMAU if that hasn't already been done.

Wishing you all the best

*Willow*

Thanks a lot for the reply. You raise an interesting issue: do you happen to know if there are at least some sz with olfactory hallucinations who claim the unpleasant smells come from themselves or are all of them claim to able to smell something from other sources, somethings that doesn't exist?
I have been misdiagnosed with sz based solely on my smell "hallucinations". I suspect I have TMAU, not yet confirmed though. It is claimed that sz have long-lasting olfactory hallucinations called phantosmia or phantom smells as opposed to patients with epilepsy and brain injury who have only short-lasting less-than-2-minutes-lasting OH.

Yes, some people with sz and olfactory hallucinations will claim that the smell comes from themselves. But it does vary. And often the hallucinations then lead to a delusionary explanation for them e.g. 'I smell rotten flesh because my intestines have rotten away'.

I think that the length will vary in sz too. I don't know how long "long lasting" is, but it can vary in length from a few seconds to minutes and possibly even longer. However the brain really isn't consciously aware of the same smell over the long term, like hours or days. Once a smell is smelled, the brain filters it out. You can repeatedly become aware of it over time (i.e. if the real smell doesn't disappear, you can become aware of it again later), but you really aren't aware of the same smell for a long time: that's just not how the brain works.

Whilst short smell hallucinations are usually more associated with epilepsy, it's not a given.

I would suggest getting tested for TMAU, and maybe even for epilepsy, as people aren't always aware that they are having seizures, depending on the type. It could also theoretically be something else like a migraine aura, which tend to last longer than seizures, like mins to hours. Usually aura are visual, but not necessarily. And you also don't necessarily get a headache with migraine, although most people do. My friend gets intense visual aura and nausea, but never gets the headache with her migraines, for example. So best to get other stuff ruled out by a neurologist too. And then get a second psych opinion because I really don't think olfactory hallucinations (even if they are confirmed hallucinations) in the absence of other symptoms and functional decline for over 6 months should qualify as schizophrenia.

All the best,

*Willow*

Weird i got the same type of condition too, where the voices would joke around and tell me that i'm smelling a bums butt. I know this might be a little bit embarrassing to say but try and be more encouraging about your own self and please don't joke around. I know many people that find this uncomfortable and even deadly to one's sense of perception. Please keep sharing and take care of it bud.